How does the Diversity Wheel predict your life chances? (PARTICIPATION)

It is important for all of us to understand that people do not simply live in a society but in a society within a set of diverse intersections: race,class, sex, gender, ability, and so on. Often we don’t tend to see or think about these intersections but that doesnot mean that they do not affect our life chances. Well, we may not think about them but these intersections often advantage some people at the expense of others.

Let’s have a very good look at them!

The center of the wheel below represents internal dimensions that are usually most permanent or visible. The outside of the wheel represents dimensions that are acquired and change over the course of a lifetime. The combinations of all of these dimensions influence our values, beliefs, behaviors, experiences and expectations and make us all unique as individuals.

Questions for thought-shower!

1. By going round the wheel, can you describe yourself?

2. What if one thing on the inner wheel changed for you?

3. Combining both wheels, the inner and the outer, describe one person, say, X, who has the most advantages in our society and another person, say, Y, who has got the least advantages possible. Try to locate your own status as you compare yourself with X & Y. Write few sentences on your finding.

4. Why does a drop of blood make you Black, when it takes a full-blooded great-greatgrandparent to make you Native American?

5. Why I am a “normal, maybe cool” person as I use my specs while my friend is “disabled” as he uses his wheelchairs?”

Can you answer all of the questions above? For help, see how Allan G. Johnson in his book Privilege, Power, and Difference respond to the first question:

Starting in the hub, I’m male, English-Norwegian (as far as I know), white (also as far as I know), fifty-nine years old, heterosexual, and non-disabled (so far). In the outer ring, I’m married, a father and grandfather, and a middle-class professional with a Ph.D. I’ve lived in New England for most of my life, but I’ve also lived in other countries. I have a vaguely Christian background, but if I had to identify my spiritual life with a particular tradition, I’d lean more toward Buddhism than anything else. I served a brief stint in the Army reserves.

After checking Allan’s take, I think you know how to describe yourself. Do it!

Also, respond to questions 2-5.

Finally, can you add ONE thought-provoking question?

(Questions 4& 5 are examples of question you should add in your weekly REFQ! However, you can always come up with your own variation but that should be precise and thought-provoking)

18 thoughts on “How does the Diversity Wheel predict your life chances? (PARTICIPATION)”

I’m female, white, 18 years old, heterosexual and non disabled. In the outer ring, I am an only child with a mother, a father and my dog. I am a high school graduate and am currently in my freshman year of college. I’ve volunteered in two different veterinary clinics and also at my local fair. I grew up Catholic. I identify myself as a Republican.
If one thing on the inner wheel changed for me, like race, I think a lot of things in my life would be different than how they are now. As a result of the color of my skin, I would face discrimination or racism.
An “X” person would be white, well-educated with either a master’s or a Phd, have great family support, could be male or female, and heterosexual. A “Y” person could be of any different race, a school dropout, come from a messy family situation, could be male or female and possibly even homosexual. This “Y” person could face discrimination because of race and sexual orientation. The “Y” person may not be as successful as the “X” person because of a lack of good education and also lack of good family support.
If you’re a full-blooded Native American, the likelihood of your ancestors and past family being the same is highly likely. Your culture is traced through many generations.
People have glasses because their eyes can’t see as well as they should. For some reason, people with wheelchairs are seen as “handicapped” and/or “disabled” but people with glasses aren’t.
Question:
People make all sorts of assumptions about a person based on something so trivial like skin color or sexual orientation. Why is it so hard for some people to get to know a person for who they are instead of making instant and likely false assumptions?

I am an eighteen year old, Latina( parents from Mexico), heterosexual female that is non disabled(almost blind). In the outer ring, I am the only girl out of my family of five, two brothers. I currently don’t have any pets, but I am always welcoming strays. I am a first generation college student. I have lived in the Pacific Northwest all eighteen years. I grew up catholic, but I am now a Christian. I worked at Dairy Queen beginning my senior year of high school, currently unemployed. I would identify myself as a Democrat. If something from the inner wheel changed for me, I would be less discriminated for, such as the color of my skin.

An example of an X person would most likely be a white, heterosexual, Caucasian male, well educated with a doctorate degree. This X person would be affiliated with the Republic party and be a Christian.
An example of a Y person might possibly be a minority, such as Latino/African American, not a heterosexual and disabled. This Y person might be a high school drop out, little education and working in a minimum wage job. This Y person would face discrimination for their skin color and personal beliefs.

I believe that they make it harder, and nearly impossible to identify yourself as Native American because the US government is already in heavy debt to the Native American people. However if you have a drop of blood, you are automatically black this makes it easier on the government and the system because studies report you are more likely to fail in almost every area, including academics and careers.
Our society tends to discriminate on appearances, especially those that are different from what is considered normal. For over a century, glasses or specs have been worn by all kinds of people. We tend to associate glasses with nerds, but with the trend of the 21st century, the big nerd glasses have made a comeback. Even people who don’t need specs are wearing them. However a wheel chair tends to be seen as uncool and disabled because of the disadvantages that come along with the bulky chair. Glasses don’t stop you from your everyday routines, unlike wheelchairs do. Wheel chairs must have their own entrances and walkways. This creates a conflict in the everyday life of those in need of one.
Q: How has the media influenced our outlook on peoples appearance and how we associate them into a category?

I am an eighteen year old and non-disabled Hispanic female. In the outer ring, I have found myself to be a strong Republican and Christian. I am a first generation college student who grew up with six other siblings with both of my parents. The only organization that I was active in was the FFA but my contract as a member ended when I graduated high school. If my ethnicity were to to change from Hispanic to white, I would have encountered certain experiences very differently. I was involved in a variety of groups which were targeted for Caucasians and I always felt out of place because the color of my skin.

An example for a “X” person would be a white heterosexual male with PhD. This “X” person would also have a successful career to support his family financially. On the other hand, an example for a “Y” person most likely be a female from a minority group with little to no education supporting herself with a low-wage job. As I compare myself to “X” and “Y” I have similar characteristics to both. I have the advantage to getting an education and I am heterosexual as “X” does. Unfortunately, I share characteristics with “Y” by being female,raised in a low-income family, and being a minority which I hope will not bring me down.

A drop of blood makes an individual black because society can easily identify and tag certain stereotypes to those specific ethnic groups. They do not owe the USA anything but instead provided a great deal of labor and effort to this country which is not as appreciated. In order to be considered a Naive American an individual must have a full-blooded grandparents and this is used to lower “true” Native Americans. Native Americans were treated very badly by white settlers and are often still discriminated today. White settlers took the land which were in the procession of Native Americans for generations.

Glasses have been accepted by society as lens to correct eye vision and have been around for centuries. The use of glasses is a disability can be corrected and there are a mass of individuals who have the similar common problem which is known around the world as not having good eyesight. Usually by wearing glasses or contacts for long periods of time, an individual’s eyesight and be corrected. Wearing glasses only affects your eyesight and the rest of your body still functions normally. When someone comes with a wheelchair, people do not really know the reason behind the person who uses the wheelchair. Certain conditions require the use of wheelchairs and are usually required to be used permanently. The rest of the body is restricted to perform other tasks.
Thought Question: Why does society link certain stereotypes on specific group even though time has passed?

Response to question 1:
From the view of the inner circle, I am an 18-year old, heterosexual, caucasian female, who is disabled in the way that I require glasses or contacts in order to see clearly. From the outer circle, I am one of four daughters with two married parents, and four taken-in cats. I was raised Irish-Catholic, but no longer affiliate with the church. I was raised speaking only english, though I took my required two years of spanish in high school. At this moment, I am a high school graduate and a freshman at WSU, with no strong political beliefs other than that I will vote for whichever candidate appeals to my interests more.

Response to question 2:
If any one thing from the inner circle changed, I would expect it to possibly change or effect something that describes me on the outer circle. How, I’m not sure. In a perfect world, nothing else would change if a part of my own being changed.

Response to question 3:
Person X, in order to have the majority of advantages in this society would most likely be a middle-aged, heterosexual, caucasian male with minimal disabilities (meaning, he needs glasses or takes medicine to assist with a small learning disability, i.e. ADD or ADHD). On the outer circle, he would be from a family with parents that have been married through his developmental years, is good-looking, and possibly identifies himself as a christian man. He has a college education with a masters in hand, who also makes a decent living.
Person Y would be a homosexual or transgender male or female of any ethnicity, with a possible physical disability (possibly a disease, infectious, cancerous, etc.). This would be a person with minimal education, not politically active, from a “broken” family with a poor income, and minimal to no work experience.
I believe that personally, I fall in between person X and person Y’s situations, but I am closer to person X. Though my life is set up quite nicely, I have dealt with many things that had the potential to set me back in life. Because of these occurrences, parts of my outer circle have been altered, and some in extreme ways. I have pushed past these experiences and continued to live my X/Y/Z life as best I can.

Response to question 4: This is a very valid question mainly because the point is so incredibly prominent. It’s only takes a distant relative who is part african-american to allow yourself to identify as a black person. Why? I’d love to say that I don’t know, but I do. I believe that this is due to the incredible history black people have had in our society. You can either be branded as black because of your 5-10% african-american background for a positive or negative reason. Maybe someone has superior athletic or academic skill and they have African-American blood somewhere in their system, ok it’s fine to label them as black. But it can also go the other way, say someone had a troubled childhood in a bad neighborhood or what have you, there’s a negative stigma that comes with that type of background and a darker shade of skin color.
In my opinion, both ways of identifying and confirming someone as “black” is racism. This is because you’re taking in the factors of skin color and upbringing that have no relation.
On the other hand, it takes more proof to show that an individual is native american simply because they didn’t play as large of a part in our history in my opinion. It’s incredibly rare, in this day in age to find a random stranger who can say, and attest to, that they are 1/10 or 1/2 native american.

Response to question 5: I, myself am someone who requires aid when it comes to my vision, but I’m not impaired my most standards. Coming from personal experience, I can attest to the inconveniences that come with needing glasses or contacts. Do I enjoy the fact that if I’m pulled over and not wearing my contacts/glasses I can get a ticket for driving while disabled? No. Is it the worst disability I could be faced with? Absolutely not.
I do think it is slightly fair that I, with my glasses, am not considered truly disabled. I think this because it’s not as visual as seeing someone in a wheelchair or using a walker. It is also more common to see someone with poor eye sight, and it is rather easy to continue to function daily. When you think of someone with a disability, you might think of pity, or that you feel sorry for them – whereas if you see someone with glasses, it’s normal. It is still a disability, but with a whole heck of a lot less negative aspects.

1. I am 18-years-old, Caucasian, female, Presbyterian, heterosexual, and not disabled. I graduated from Almira-Coulee/Hartline High School and attend Washington State University. My family consists of married parents and two older brothers as well as a cat named Fairy. I consider myself to be a Republican. I grew up on a family farm so that’s where I worked and received income.
2. If one thing changed on the inner wheel for me my life would definitely be different. Skin color would greatly affect me since I am already a “white folk.”
3. Person X, a young, white, straight, educated male would have the most advantages in our society and person Y, someone of a different race other than white, not educated, homosexual, and female would have the least advantages. I would compare to person X the most other than the male part because I am white, getting an education, and straight. Person Y would have a much harder time getting accepted into society. They would also have a hard time getting a job.
4. For most Native Americans, you may not even know they are natives until they tell you. It is different for Black people in this society. They are characterized at black because of their skin and it is obviously easier to notice a black person over a Native American.
5. In today’s society, glasses are not characterized as having a disability but someone in a wheelchair is. That may be because a wheelchair is larger and the person cant walk for a short period or a lifetime and that is more noticeable. As for me, in April I broke my leg and was on crutches and a scooter for a month. I was noticed that much more and it was definitely a bothersome. People didn’t know how to react to my disability and it made me realize how those in a wheelchair (lifetime) really feel.
Question: Why is it that some are characterized in certain groups from race to even disabilities when we should all be characterized in just one big group?

I have a lot in common with you when I compare your responses to the questions with mine. I am also a straight caucasian, from a christian background. To answer your follow up question, I believe that we are categorized into groups based on race or disabilities because it makes it easy to label people and find similarities with others based off of your skin color, culture, or mental/physical handicap. However, I do wish we were all seen as “humans” instead of individuals, especially since based off the science, genetically we aren’t much different from one another.

I am an 18 year old, white, heterosexual girl who is disabled for the fact that I cannot see without my glasses on or my contacts in, and I sometimes need an inhaler to assist in an asthma attack. In the outer circle, I have no religious preference however, my family considers themselves Christians. I also have no political preference so I would be an independent. I am average height, weight, and shoe size. I’m a natural blonde and I have blue eyes and freckles. I received income from my job as a waitress at a local restaurant, where I gained work experience. I got other work experience from helping on the family farm and volunteering at several places. I would say I have good communication skills (I am a Com major) and I wish to start a career in PR and/or advertising. I graduated high school in the top 15 in my class, and ASB President and I hope to continue achieving big things here at Washington State University.

If one thing on the inner wheel changed for me, such as my eyes getting better, it would improve my life tremendously. I wouldn’t have to worry about keeping my contacts in for too long, or not being able to see anything if my glasses were to break.

Person X is most likely a heterosexual, white man or woman that is well educated and earns a healthy living. They probably grew up in a nice home with nurturing parents and are Christians. Person Y is a minority who is not well educated (Possibly GED) and has homosexual tendencies. They came from a broken home and don’t have the social skills necessary to find a good job. I would say I fit into Person X’s description the most. However, I have gone through adversities in life that made me a Person Y at the time.

Native Americans are able to ask for so much more than black people. The government is required to allow Natives to have certain things, and certain rights. It’s not like that for blacks. So it’s ok to have more blacks because we’re not losing anything due to them.

I believe that having glasses or any impairment makes you disabled if you need something/someone to assist you.

1. I am a 19 year old, white, male, who is heterosexual and I require contacts and glasses. I grew up in California and moved to Washington where I attended middle school and high school and now going into my sophomore year here at Washington State University. I have worked four jobs already throughout high school and college. I do not see myself as a religious or political person. I have a mom and dad and a younger brother. I have always had dogs my entire life. My income is low because I am still young and only have worked part time jobs so far. I took a couple years of french but can really only speak English fluently.
2. If one thing on the inner wheel changed for me, like gender, it would be a big change. Being male I have no idea what it is like to be female and their would be many changes that aren’t just physical. People are always talking about men making more than women who work the same position at the same job. I have never experienced that but would not doubt it in some places around the world. Along with that would also be the harassment women get from guys at all different places.
3. Following stereotypes an “X” person would probably be a white male with advanced education(4 years of college or more), has a good job and income, happy family, lives in a nice house and neighborhood, doesn’t have any major mental or physical disabilities. A “Y” person is almost the exact opposite according to stereotypes, they would be of a minority race, could be male or female, not much education, no real job, might be homosexual, might have some disabilities, and might not be close with their family. These are two very far extremes to both sides of the spectrum of how people live but to try and fit myself into them is hard because going around the wheel you can easily fit closer to one side than the other. For example I am a white male but I don’t have a real job or good income at this time and I don’t always get along with my family. But that doesn’t mean I better than some people or worse than others, it is just who I am and where I happen to fall into these different categories.
4. It only takes a drop of blood to make you black but you need to have a full-blooded great-great grandparent to make you Native American because for some reason in the world we live in people find the need to discriminate against black people and seem to give a lot of benefits to Native American people. So basically one drop of blood makes you black meaning those who are racist can discriminate easier and having to have a full blooded great great grandparent be Native American to make you Native American means that those who give you benefits can deny all people who don’t fit that category so that way they give out less stuff and less money.
5. Saying someone who wears glasses isn’t disabled while someone who is in a wheelchair is disabled is wrong. Both people are technically disabled. Wearing glasses or contacts means you are correcting and helping improve your vision, which also means you are correcting a disability you have. Society today seems to not see this as a disability because people wearing glasses aren’t considered disabled and don’t get handicapped signs for their cars while people who are considered disabled by society seem to need a wheelchair or help doing stuff or do receive a handicapped sign for their car. Whether your disability is major and you need a wheelchair or minor and you need a pair of glasses, both are still technically a disability and should be treated as those they are the same.
Question: What continues to fuel peoples’ racism and racial thoughts and actions in todays society even though people with all different skin colors have been living together for so many years?

1) By going around the circle, I am identified by being an 18 year old male, who is Caucasian, heterosexual, with my only physical disability coming in the form of needed to wear eye glasses for increased vision. Following along the outer circle, I am a liberal college student coming from a middle class, Christian family of 6 siblings. I worked in a restaurant and a garden nursery throughout high school and english is my native tongue.
2) If one thing changed in the inner circle it would effect me in ways that I can’t change, such as mental/physical ability or age, so the change would really effect me as an individual and how I identify myself.
3) If you compared my life to people such as “x” and “y” I would most likely identify myself more in the likes of person “x” because I come from a wealthy Caucasian background and have had more advantages than disadvantages in my upbringing. Some of them being that both my parents went to college and have an an educated background allowing them to make enough money to send me to college. A example of an “X” person would be a typically white male or female, who comes from an wealthier and educated background. While a “Y” person would typically be uneducated and be living or grew up in a an area which isn’t as economically stable; such as lower income areas.
4) In America being Native American gets you financial benefits, so in my opinion you need proof of being Native American because of economical benefits it provides. While being african american doesn’t give you any federal or state financial gains based off ethnicity.
5) With a disability such as eye glasses, you are able to take them on and off or you can get them fixed by contacts or surgery. However, in the case of someone being in a wheelchair they can’t just “take off” their wheelchair or get it “fixed” it is a permanent disability.

I am an 18 year old male, who is Caucasian and very heterosexual. My main disability with the world is having big feet, this makes it hard to find good looking shoes at the stores I shop in. I tend to lean on the Republican side being very conservative, but love being free with my choices. In my family I have two older sisters and two lovely parents who raised me Catholic. I worked at one of the biggest tulip fields in the world, and experienced the fast-food life being one of Arby’s fry cooks.
If one thing on the inner wheel changed for me, such as being taller, it would make my basketball game so much better. I would be able to dunk over people and shoot over people. It would be the perfect world for me.
If we compared my life to people like “x” and “y” I would be lean slightly to “x” because I’m a white caucasian man, coming from an upper middle class family that will always be there for me if I’m falling behind. An example of a perfect “X” person would be a white male or female, who’s parents push them to the limit. An example of “Y” person would be someone from out of the country, who’s parents are not caring and with no income to support them. I know many cases of this “Y” person can be very successful in the world because they have more drive then someone that has everything in the bag for them.
A drop of blood makes an individual black because overtime society has degrated certain ethnic groups, making it hard for them to be treated equally to everyone else. On the other hand back in the day, Whites felt bad for the Native and gave them benefits to suite there needs. So today the only people who get the benefits are Natives, and need to prove their Native blood.
For the last question I believe that everyone should be treated equal and there is no such thing as being disable. The terrible thing about this world is everyone is judging each other and put into different categories. This is why the kid in the wheelchair gets the special classification.

By going around the wheel, I am 18, female, caucasion/Hispanic, hetorsexual, and not disabled. In the outer ring, my education is from K- freshman year in a 4 year university, I am democratic, a family of 4 with divorced parents, bilingual in Spanish and English, I do not work right now so I have no income, I am Christian, I am a 5’10 girl, and lastly I have worked at a movie theatre, a law firm, and a golf course.

I feel like if something in the inner wheel changed for me, there would be a greater impact on who I am today than if something were to change on the outer wheel.

Person X would be a 30 year old, a graduate from an IV league grad school, looking for a new job with some work experience, white, male, heterosexual, Christian, high income, trilingual, a strong family connection, a republican or democrat, and a generally good looking guy. Person Y would be a 30 year old female who dropped out of high school, doesn’t have a strong family connection, they barely speak English, low income, and little to no work experience. Because I am a female, it will be harder for me to find a job, but I am bilingual so hopefully that comes to my benefit.

A drop of blood makes you black because people find it easier to identify you and categorize you with certain traits and stereotypes that may go along with being black. Whereas, to be a Native American, your great great grandparents having to be full blooded Native Americans which will then make you Native American. This may be because Native Americans can receive so much money from the government (for example scholarships) so then the government wants to make sure they are legitimate. Also, full blooded Native Americans are hard to find today, many may say they are a fraction of some tribe, but not full.

I agree very much with Tanya and saying how “the trend of the 21st century, the big nerd glasses have made a comeback.” Styles and trends are changing constantly. As soon as we know it, we’re all going to be wearing leathers from the fashion in the 80s. Now a person in a wheelchair will be called “disabled” because they aren’t able to walk. Not being able to see can be easily fixed with some cool looking glasses and not many people will think much of it, but being in a wheelchair is very noticeable. Society judges so quickly on appearances, it’s the first thing the human eye sees.

Question:

Who came up with categories? How is it that we can categorize ourselves so easily and at times categorize other people even easier?

I appreciate your section about Person X/Person Y, Ciara. I question if I did mine correctly now after reading yours. XD I enjoyed how stark the contrasts between your two people were, and it was funny because I found myself rooting for the girl and hoping her bilingual skill would serve to her benefit (sounds like a movie!). Which is interesting in itself because in the media we thrive on “underdog stories,” yet in reality we don’t make huge efforts to help the “underdogs” out of fear of jeopardizing what advantages we already have as individuals.

1.) By going round the wheel, can you describe yourself?
Inner Wheel: I am a nineteen-year-old female. I am German, English, Irish, Black-Dutch, Cherokee, and Blackfoot, but am regarded as “White.” I am a Class-2 bisexual according to the Kinsey Scale Test, and I have no disabilities.
Outer Wheel: I have a boyfriend, am a daughter, sister, granddaughter, niece, student, etc. I do not associate with any religion. I am a middle-class transfer-sophomore learning Communications and Film. I’ve lived in the US all my life, though have visited Canada. I am 5’1” and 145lbs. I have short, choppy blonde hair that flips outwards. I have had three jobs, all as a waitress for minimum-wage. I do not associate with a political belief. My primary language is English, though I’ve taken two years of Spanish in high school. I’ve done lots of volunteer work and was a major youth organization leader during high school.
2.) What if one thing on the inner wheel changed for you?
If one thing on the inner wheel changed, it would change a variety of other elements. For example, if I changed my sexual orientation, it wouldn’t change my age, race/ethnicity, or national origin. However, it may change my gender identity or expression, mental/physical ability, or gender. This could happen if I chose to be more male, which would be a change in my gender identity and/or expression. If I chose to pursue being more “male” in my identity, I could change my overall gender association to male (clothing, hairstyle, name, etc.). Doing this would affect my mental ability with emotionally coping with my new change, studying male culture, and the physical ability could be changed if I chose to take hormones for male enhancement. Depending on society’s view of my change, the way people would regard me could change, too. Some of my family members would approve of my change, where others would not. This could affect my religious friends, and even my appearance (as stated earlier). Depending on my employers, this change could affect my work-life (as to whether they’d hire me or not), which could affect my income. Depending on the support, or negative views, of my change, people could choose to not help me in organizing youth events. It would affect my education because I’d have to research proper doctors, medicines, and study male culture to become more integrated, and I could apply for more scholarships and grants for school of choice. Depending on the benefits (financial, medical, etc.), or there lack of, my political views may change as well due to my gender change.
3.) Combining both wheels…
This one was pretty difficult. After a lot of thought, I decided an immigrant from the Middle-East would have much less advantages than a white citizen born-and-raised in the USA (like me). This is because in the inner wheel, their age would affect their world view of the USA, and their race/ethnicity and national origin would be heavily judged by the US society. Their mental/physical ability may vary, and their sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, and gender would depend on their cultural values.
Because their inner wheel would be so different form the general US public, coupled with the current global issues surrounding the US and Middle-East, their outer wheel would be just as subjected to criticism as the inner. Because of the different culture, the individual’s level of education may depend on their gender. Their political beliefs would be far more complex/conflicted, coming from the opposite end of the spectrum from what the US media has told us about “helping” the Middle-East, VS the Middle-Easterner’s possible belief in the US furthering their “colonialism” by invading their homeland. Their work experience and income could be jeopardized by the level of cultural unfamiliarity by their employer because of their different appearance, religion, and language and communication skills. This would also be affected by the employer’s level of education with the culture, and the US media’s depictions of Muslims, Arabs, etc. Their family structure may vary, as well as their organization roles.
This is significantly different from my life. I am judged for my national origin/race/ethnicity (and the “blondes are stupid” stereotype) for my appearance in the US, but that pales in comparison to having my entire culture (religion, education, etc.) judged strictly by my appearance. I am guaranteed almost any job because there are no wars to stigmatize me. I am never accused of being a “terrorist” for wearing the garbs of my people. I’m not used to having a “my people” bound by cultural history, and being judged. If I went to another country, however, the roles would certainly change: their culture would probably judge me for being a rich American girl because of my national origin/race/ethnicity (being “White,” blue-eyed and blonde). I’d also speak predominantly English, and my level of education and income would be judged based on my clothing. My gender/gender identity or expression, and my age would also be subjective. This does not, however, excuse the disadvantages of some of the members of our own society based on their looks.
4.) Why does a drop of blood…
I remember this question being discussed much earlier in the course. This mostly resolved around the Courts trying to categorize people into “black and white” groups in order to grant citizenship to immigrants. Laws as to who was considered “white” varied state per state,
…Virginia Law defined a black person as a person with 1/16 African ancestry. Now Florida defined a black person as a person with 1/8 African ancestry. Alabama said (you’re black if) you’ve got any black ancestry…But you know what this means? You can walk across a state line and literally, legally, change race (James Horton, Historian).
5.) Why I am a “normal, maybe cool…”
Society’s opinion on disability is definitely complex. I feel like a lot of people’s first reactions to the word “disabled” are the mental images of someone in a wheelchair (having trouble with mobility), and then maybe a mental handicap. It seems if somebody has trouble with movement (people in wheelchairs), people seem much more adapt to want to help them (open doors, offer assistance), VS somebody with sight issues because the person with glasses is still mobile, which, in our society, represents the ability to function and be a working member of society. Not saying that people in wheelchairs and other disabilities are not functional, capable members of society, it’s just something I’ve noticed. For example, my cousin is mentally handicapped (the second image that pops into people’s minds at the word “disabled”), but she’s still able to be a functioning member of society by working in a special program for people of her cognitive ability. People with glasses seem to be valued for their intelligence (I don’t know how that stereotype started) because they’re still mobile and “independent,” despite sight issues.

Question: How do we help people become more educated on the advantages/disadvantages of other members of our society, and how to we cultivate that knowledge to help those of less advantage, instead of perpetuating the ignorance/competitiveness of people with an “advantage VS disadvantage” mentality?

Question: How do we help people become more educated on the advantages/disadvantages of other members of our society, and how to we cultivate that knowledge to help those of less advantage, instead of perpetuating the ignorance/competitiveness of people with an “advantage VS disadvantage” mentality?

I don’t believe the categories on the inner ring have a large impact on the chances and opportunities I will have in the future. I believe most if not all of the categories on the outer ring play a large part in the opportunities you will obtain, mainly because the subjects on the outer ring pertain to people that have success in multiple areas of their lives such as jobs. However, the subjects on the inner ring do not play a role in a persons success that they have the opportunity to obtain.

Andrew, I kindly disagree with your opinion stating that the subjects on the inner ring do not play a role in a person’s success. Though this may be what we want to believe and what society wants us to believe, but that is like saying racism does not exist at all anymore today. Unfortunately, I do believe that the inner ring has an influence on peoples’ success.